Regrettably the ASDC ie The Association of Separated and Divorced Catholics in England and Wales was wound up as a national organisation in October 2015 and therefore there is no longer an official website in its name. I am developing a website on which it is hoped to keep some of the spirit of the former ASDC alive and the address of the isite is http://www.separated-divorcedand catholic.me.uk.

NB Don't confuse the "Association of Separated and Divorced Catholics" in England and Wales with two other organisation who use the ASDC acromym and are still functioning. The first is "The Association for Science and Discovery Centres" which I understand has been around since 2009 and are involved in science and education for all. They are still going strong and have their national conference during week commencing 21 September 2017. They also have a new website, www.sciencecentres.org.uk

The second organisation which uses the acronym "ASDC" is the "National Association of Separated and Divorced Catholics (NASDC)" in the USA which has been in existence a lot longer than either of the two organisations who have used or are using the same acronym in the UK. They too are still going strong although it seems from their website that they are not recognised by the ASDC acronym as prominently as they have been in the past.

The Association of Separated and Divorced Catholics (ASDC) in England and Wales was an association of local lay self support groups; stemming from an inaugural meeting called in Manchester in 1981 in response to an increasing pressure for a more compassionate understanding of separated and divorced catholics. The association, warmly supported by the Bishops' Conference, had adopted a constitution (approved by the hierarchy), which qualified it for charitable status (which had been withdrawn before the Association was eventually dissolved), and had elected a co-ordinating committee based at the Headquarters in Manchester.

The purpose of our organisation was to provide catholics shattered by the trauma of marriage breakdown with the support and care which is often best provided by fellow believers and sufferers. With the guidance of group chaplains, and confident in Christ's promise to those who gather in His name, we believed Christ shares in our mutual ministry of healing. Many lonely and isolated catholics with our common faith in Christ (in particular those trying to raise children on their own) described joining the ASDC as "finding a new family". With the help of our new brothers and sisters we learned to admit our anger, resolve our bitterness, start to forgive past injuries and mistakes, our own included, and so to begin to live again. Through shared prayer, discussion, study, retreats, as well as more social outings and entertainments, we grow in the confidence to reassert ourselves in society.We are not a pressure group seeking to change church law; we uphold the sanctity and integrity of marriage as the foundation of human life. We do aim to change attitudes by spreading accurate information on the church's teaching on separation, divorce, annulment and remarriage both among our members and fellow Christians. We want to integrate our work with other caring agencies to reduce the number of marriages that fail.